As legend of Odell Beckham Jr. grows, so will number of hits feisty Giants WR will endure

The encore performance of Odell Beckham never promised to be easy. Victor Cruz just wants to make sure it's fair.

He's not likely to get his wish, though. Not based on what he saw Saturday night. Because what he saw from his vantage point on the sidelines during the Giants' 22-12 victory over the Jaguars wasn't just Beckham failing to catch any of the five balls thrown his direction. What he saw were a bunch of Jaguars defensive backs trying to take off Beckham's head.

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"I was a little unhappy," Cruz said on Tuesday. "I think some of those DBs were kind of gunning for him. It was just sad to see that go down.

"From the line, you can see it right as you're running your route," Cruz added. "You're running a vertical route and you take a peek at the safety to see where he is before you look at the ball, and you just see him, head down, trying to spear you. I mean you can see that from a mile away.

"He's a smart kid. He understands that. It's just unfair. It kind of made me upset a little bit watching that."

It's a good bet this won't be the last time Cruz will be upset, because it's a lock that Beckham will be in line for much more of that this season. He made himself a marked man not just with his spectacular Rookie of the Year debut, but with his well-earned reputation for being a chippy player with an attitude. He enjoys talking to (and at) opposing defensive backs and, as everyone saw last season, he doesn't easily back down from a few extra shoves or a full-blown flight.

So is it any surprise that, in a preseason game, the Jaguars defensive backfield seemed to line him up like a clay pigeon for target practice? It's exactly what the Giants feared last year as Beckham's legend began to grow.

Still, Cruz was steamed with what he saw, "Just when guys have the opportunity to get an interception and they don't even go for the ball," he said. "I get it. It's preseason, you're trying to get a job. I understand that. Let's just keep it within the game."

The Jaguars definitely did not do that on three of the plays Beckham was involved in. It started on the second play of the game when Eli Manning overthrew Beckham down the left sideline and safety Sergio Brown ran from the middle of the field straight at Beckham, without even glancing at the ball.

The resulting hit wasn't huge, but it angered Beckham enough that he and Brown had words. It also set the stage for what could've been a really dangerous play later in the first quarter, when Beckham ran a crossing route over the middle of the field and safety Craig Loston ran right at him from the opposite direction — with his head down the entire time.

Loston's intent was clear, which is likely why Beckham pulled up — drawing some harsh criticism on the radio from former Giants center Shaun O'Hara. Beckham pulled up again —likely for the same reason — on a deep pass down the sidelines early in the second quarter. At the end of that one, he made sure to give the incoming Brown a big shove.

Jaguars’ Davon House tackles Odell Beckham, who was making a sliding catch in front of him during their preseason game. (Adam Hunger/AP)

Beckham hasn't spoken to the media since that game, so it's unclear how he feels about what happened. But Cruz was furious, in part "because I couldn't help him. I couldn't go out there on the field and run routes with him. I couldn't help get some of the pressure off of him."

And maybe it would've made a difference if Cruz and Rueben Randle were in the game. But it seems much more likely that this is just Beckham's new world order. Just like he has to deal with everyone wanting a piece of him off the field now that he's famous, the reality is that everyone will want a piece of him on the field, too.

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"I dealt with it a little bit as well and I've spoken with him about it," Cruz said. "It's just something that he's just got to deal with and kind of battle through. It's not easy, especially early on in the preseason to go through something like that.

"You've just got to battle through it. You've got to power through it. You've got to kind of expect it every game. There's a difference between coming in and not expecting it and then getting it and then you're surprised. You have to come into the game expecting that's how you're going to be treated, then kind of make your adjustments off that."

That's just the price of being Beckham — a feisty, fearless, Pro Bowl receiver. The Giants just have to hope that the price he pays doesn't get too high.